5 Ingredients, an Urban Family series where we sit down with a Shanghai-based chef and ask for a family-friendly meal using 5 Ingredients easily found in Shanghai; let us help you start the week with a simple five-step recipe!
This week Willmer Colmenares, Head Chef at CHAR dining and bar, Hotel Indigo Shanghai on the Bund shares his chia granola recipe. Originally from Venezuela, Chef Willmer’s 20 year career has given him extensive experience at home and around the globe before landing in Shanghai. He regularly makes this healthy dish for his children Dharma (7 years old) and Aiden (5 years old).
What dish are you helping us prepare this week?
As a Chef, I spend a lot of time at work, so when I have time off I like to make little healthy snacks for the family; baking bread for the week or making home-style pizza for dinner on the weekend. For Urban Family, I wanted to help you make a simple recipe that everyone will enjoy, as it’s not always easy to find healthy snacks in Shanghai. I’ve chosen homemade chia granola; you will only need a few items and an oven.
What five ingredients do we need?
The recipe is very simple and you can adapt it to your taste, play around with the ingredients until you find the perfect mix for your family. The base is the same, cereals, nuts, seeds, dry fruits and sweet syrup, so you can swap for similar products and follow the same process.
1. Cereal
400g Jumbo oats
2. Seeds
80 grams chia seeds
200 grams pumpkin seeds
200 grams sunflower seeds
3. Dry fruits
100 grams raisins
100 grams sultanas
100 grams dry redcurrants
4. Nuts
200 grams cut almonds (small sticks)
50 grams whole almonds
5. Sweet syrup
50 grams agave syrup
What is the five-step recipe?
1. Pre-heat the oven to 160° centigrade. When ready, roast the seeds and nuts (one kind at a time) for approximately 8–10 minutes each, until they are a roasted color with crunchy texture.
2. Once roasted, mix the seeds and nuts together in a large bowl.
3. When the seeds and nuts have slightly cooled (but still a little warm) add the agave syrup, mixing well to make sure all the nuts are covered. While they are cooling down, continue to mix regularly to make sure they do not stick together.
4. Roast the jumbo oats and place in a different bowl until they have cooled down.
5. When all ingredients have cooled, mix together with the dried fruits and place in an air-tight container to keep fresh.
Any other advice for your dish of the week?
I wanted this to be a healthy snack for my kids as I am not fond of sugar snacks. This is why I prefer agave as a sweetener, but if needed it can be replaced with natural honey or maple syrup, it all depends on your taste. With regards to the nuts, the more the merrier, and try to use what your kids love the most. I also make a great granola with pecan seeds, maple syrup and dry redcurrants during the winter.
Tip: Don’t over roast your seeds or nuts as this will give your granola a bitter taste. When roasting mix the nuts from time to time, this will ensure they all have a nice color and taste.
Serving: We enjoy this granola with cereal for breakfast, with yogurt for a morning or afternoon snack or on top of our ice cream and pancakes, there are many uses and it’s fun to make with the kids.
Tell us something that’s happening in your restaurant for our Urban Family community to enjoy.
I try to keep the restaurant alive with new things happening every month. Last month we started our ‘Taste of the Americas’ promotion, and we added five extra cuts from different American countries; starting from Canada, going down to Chile and passing through the US, Uruguay and Argentina. This will give our guests the opportunity to compare our Australian products with the American ones.
This Halloween week we are working on a very bloody cut, as we will be launching our ‘Robbins Island Full Blood Wagyu Tomahawk Marble 9+,’ this amazing Wagyu cut of 1.2 kilogram from Tasmania will be available from Halloween night until the end of November. This highest marble grade from Australian Wagyu will give our customers the possibility to try the best of the world at our tables.
See listing for CHAR dining and bar, Hotel Indigo Shanghai on the Bund.
For more 5 Ingredients recipes, click here.
